Lech-Lecha: Expanding, But Not Removing, the Fence

In a few days, congregants here at Ohev Shalom will have a big decision to make. After a long process of deliberation - through living room salons, town hall meetings, and individual conversations - our synagogue leadership is putting forth a proposal to amend our constitution to allow non-Jewish family members of Jewish 

congregants to become full-fledged Ohevites. In and of itself, this is a big topic, and I look forward to a fascinating communal debate on November 1st to decide, ultimately, whether to make this change or not. At the same time, this one discussion has also opened up an entirely separate conversation about community boundaries in general. Who is "in" and who is "out," and who gets to decide? And if we allow non-Jewish individuals to (officially) join Ohev Shalom, who is left on the other side of our boundary... and why? The answer to that last question is of especially crucial importance.

From my perspective, we NEED to maintain a boundary. I'll talk in a minute about who is on the other side, but even before I get there, I want to emphasize the importance of A fence, SOME fence, to indicate where the borders are. I say this because some people don't think we should have ANY borders. Creating barriers is, to them, inherently 

discriminatory, exclusionist, and possibly even racist. I wholeheartedly (and respectfully) disagree. The existence of perimeters helps us identify, clarify, and solidify who WE are. I fundamentally believe that I need to know MYSELF first, and be proud to speak about who I am and what I stand for, and then I can engage with, and get to know "the other." A lack of boundaries doesn't help communication or bring people closer; it just creates confusion and chaos. Strong identities - partnered with openness to others, willingness to learn and listen, and commitment to reciprocity and sharing - lead to good and healthy relationships. We need that fence to help us know, truly, who we are. Now it is also true that fences get abused, and people DO use them to hide racist intent. But the boundaries themselves are not automatically and eternally wrong. We should absolutely look to expand our fences - as we're considering doing right now - to make sure we're inclusive, and that our perimeter reflects who is actually (and already) part of our congregation. The markers should be reevaluated from time to time, without question, but that still doesn't mean that all separations should be removed.

With that in mind, let's consider the borders that will still remain (IF we make this change on November 1st...). The biggest category of people who would still not be eligible for membership (and about whom we've so far received the most amount of questions and raised eyebrows) is Messianic Jews. Sometimes also called "Jews for Jesus," these Messianic Jews consider themselves Jewish, but also believe that Jesus was the Messiah and/or the 

son of God. But more than just a separate religious group, like Muslims, Christians, Hindus, or even atheists, many Messianic Jews actively proselytize among Jews, and frequently use subversive tactics to bring people to their congregations under false pretenses. They are NOT just another denomination of Judaism. You can read a lot more on a Jewish website called "Jews for Judaism," created specifically to counteract the messages and methods of these groups. I feel it is important to highlight this difference, because it is very significant. As "Jews for Judaism" expresses on their site, Buddhists, atheists, and many others respectfully hold different views from Jews and Christians. They do NOT suggest that the best way to express your Christianity is to become a Buddhist. Or that the highest form of Jewish living is to become an atheist! Jews for Jesus try to prove their validity through disproving ours. Individuals may obviously choose to be Messianic Jews; I wish them no ill will. But there is also no question for me that theirs is a community outside my border.

I didn't want to conclude without a reference to this week's Torah portion, Lech-Lecha (this is, after all, a Torah-based blog...). Our parashah focuses on the early years of our ancestors, Abraham and Sarah. And indeed, they are the ancestors of ALL people who consider themselves to fit under the umbrella of the Abrahamic faiths. 

This week's reading begins with God's grand blessing for Abraham: "All the nations of the earth shall bless themselves by you" (Gen. 12:3). And despite this, we are not one, big, happy family. We strive to get along, sometimes more successfully than others, but we DO have divisions and subgroupings. We have distinct religions and cultures, and we can all still bless ourselves by Sarah and Abraham. Our boundaries help us know who WE are, and what makes us distinct. Though it can be uncomfortable, it is often helpful to know who is "not-us" to see ourselves more clearly. And even as we work to expand our fence, it is always good to remember that the fence itself is there to protect (and challenge) us, and it too can be a source of blessing.

Photos in this blog post:
1. CC image courtesy of Rama on Wikimedia Commons
2. CC image courtesy of Haiku2 on Wikimedia Commons
3. CC image courtesy of Liftarn on Wikimedia Commons
4. CC image courtesy of Spacebirdy on Wikimedia Commons